Adtech company Dream Agility has recently welcomed Australian retail pharmacy giant Chemist Warehouse as a new client in what was hailed as a “significant step” for the Ramsbottom business.

Dream Agility, led by co-founder and CEO Elizabeth Clark, provides clients with integration-free, cloud-based technology which optimises their data with the help of machine learning.

The company's software sits between a retailer and Google and matches up the website's feed to Google search terms without changing the content on the site itself.

According to Clark, who is also an international conference speaker and bestselling author, this typifies Australia’s attitude towards embracing new ad tech.

The Tech Manchester mentor said the country is “probably the fastest adoptee of machine learning technology in retail, globally”.

“Of the major markets we operate in, Australia has easily been our fastest rate of adoption,” Clark said.

“Other countries are more reserved, but the Australian retailers are quite irrepressible in their desire for a competitive edge. In particular, household named Australian brands such as Chemist Warehouse.”

Clark, who jokingly refers to her company’s location as ‘Silicon Rammy’, also reflected on how the retail industry as a whole is gradually catching onto its innovative platform.

“We were recently visited by Google, who were shocked at our growth rates compared to their benchmarks. We explained that advertisers are flocking to the better returns available with machine learning.”

Tentworld, the Australian retailer of camping gear and products, is another example of a forward-thinking business moving in the same direction.

Director Jon Burrell said: “Tentworld are very much entering the Machine Learning age, and what better place to test it than on Google Search with its millions of data points.

“What impressed me about the Dream Agility platform is its impressive award-winning track record, and the constant advancements in the tech.

“With 12 stores and further ambitions to grow our real estate, at what has been a tough time for many other retailers. It’s important to be able to accurately demonstrate how the spend on Google is influencing our in-store sales, so we know the true value of our online advertising.

“We’re looking forward to using all the new developments on the Dream Agility platform to give us a competitive edge and support our ambitious business growth, both online and instore.”

But despite the success that Dream Agility has enjoyed and continues to enjoy, Clark refuses to be complacent and is focused on further enhancing and evolving the platform.

She said: “I’ve set our PhDs the goal of making the current platform and approach obsolete. I ask them, ‘If we were to start the business today rather than two years ago, how would we do it differently?’

“Google and Amazon’s hosting support of start-ups, like us, has enabled the development of a visual AI tool, currently in beta testing, that we believe will revolutionise online merchandising in fast fashion.

“Given the no nonsense adoption of Australia, it was inevitable that our testing is beginning there - where results seem to matter more than status quo.”

Dream Agility was included in BusinessCloud’s list of 101 tech start-up disrupters -read more